"you shouldn't judge a book by its cover" - what lies beneath could bear an element of surprise

Thursday, June 29, 2017

If Dead is the Look they were Going For, They have Succeeded

Though I have had a small hand and say
in making funeral arrangements, I have not had the opportunity of having to
find a mortuary nor have considered every financial expect.Before either of my parents had passed, there
needed to be a record of what funeral home to contact should they expire.My dad lived out his final days at Cottonwood
Hospital in Murray, Utah.Ironically, he
had also been born there (or so I was told) but at that time it had been called
Cottonwood Maternity Ward and wasn't the full blown hospital where he had died.

Mom had used a local mortuary as a
contact I’m guessing because it was familiar territory as it had been used by
other members of our ward.Before mom
passed, Corey had made arrangements for Premier Funeral – though none of us had
heard of it before, it really does seem the most economical way to go.Premier doesn’t offer a chapel or a
show room in which members can walk around and look at caskets.They offer a catalogue – which I suppose
doesn’t go over well with some people, but Corey and I were fine with it.Premier has a lot to offer – for one thing
the body is embalmed right away – at least where it is possible. (autopsy would be an
exception)

Jeanie was already gone when the paramedics
arrived.Possibly before she fell- or
why she was falling.Her mother said
that seven clots had been found in her lung(s) and not just one.I don’t know what shade she was when the paramedics
arrived or how pale she must have gotten in the morgue.It feels a bit morbid wondering.I
was not impressed with the makeup job - but I have no idea what of Jeanie's
facial condition when she arrived to the mortuary.Perhaps
they had done a marvelous job with the "canvas" given - I just didn't
see that.Mommy and Daddy had looked so
natural, so peaceful, as though they were sleeping.Jeanie looked like a corpse – like in a
really low budget movie when everything looks fake.It appeared that she had jaundice underneath
the make-up.It was hard seeing her like
that.

Biff had never been involved with any
plans concerning funerals – except when we had asked him to be a pall bearer at
my mom’s.But that was the extent of
it.He had never gone to look for a
casket or a burial plot.I’m sure the
funeral home they went through was the same one his in-laws had used when they
had buried their other two children.It
was right next to – perhaps even part of the cemetery.I think Biff just went along with what they
wanted.What did he know?They had been through it before.Roland and I have both gone through it, but
we weren’t there.We weren’t involved
with the decisions or give advice or hold our son’s hand.

I don’t know that his in-laws would
have felt comfortable using Premier as they had the viewing in one location and
the funeral in another.The mortuary was
in a familiar place where family and loved ones had already gathered.They would have had to make arrangements for
another chapel with Premier. But I think they would have saved a tremendous
amount of cost.My son, Randy, had set up a fund for
Biff and his daughter – a plea to help pay for expenses.The goal was to hit 5,000.3,000 had been raised in eight days by 62
different people. I cried every time I would see donations being made.I know there were many who knew Jeanie personally,
but still many that did not know her at all.Some hadn’t even known Biff for that matter, and that touched my
heart.My nephew, Brian, was the first
to contribute to the cause.

I don’t know how many chapels and
"comfort" rooms the funeral home offered.I would guess at least seven.It felt as if there had been seven different
viewings all scheduled for Sunday night.Perhaps there had only been four or five.We had to pass them all in order to get the
room where Jeanie and family were waiting.The lines were long.I’m sure
that is why they had put us at the end.When mom died, we had her at the
Relief Society room in the building where she attended church.We were there Friday night and the mortuary
took her away and brought her back the following morning and then we moved into
the chapel. Premier had driven her back and forth.I'm not knocking the full blown centers but
am in favor of using Premier again.They
did an awesome job for us.I was
overwhelmed by the amount of traffic involved with Jeanie.I never felt overwhelmed with Premier.The situation was always calm and
respectful.

About Me

I am a mother, a sister, a daughter, a friend . . . I am a memory preserver and I enjoy learning. I have read a few Blogs and am a bit reluctant about starting my own. I don't believe I have anything pertinant to add to the Bloggers walk of life. (to learn why this blog is so named, read my first post created January 1, 2012) http://beneaththewraps.blogspot.com/2012/01/introduction-beneath-wraps.html